Communication Research on Health Disparities and Coping Strategies in COVID-19 Related Crises

This book presents health communication scholarship from Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, United States, and Venezuela, that recognizes the central role of communication in addressing and coping with health disparities across diverse populations. It thus advances understanding of the nuances of long standing, as well as emerging health disparities in our ever-changing social environment.

The volume features eleven original, interdisciplinary research and evidence-based articles from scholars with distinct disciplinary backgrounds and unique positionalities who offer new and meaningful perspectives for scholars and practitioners in their diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice efforts within domains such as health communication and public health. Contributions to the book facilitate meaningful dialogue and knowledge exchanges to address a wide range of key health disparities related to structural barriers and racial inequities.

Featuring highly interdisciplinary research spanning from the Global South to the Global North, this book will be a key resource for researchers, scholars and practitioners in both communication studies and health sciences, as well as their respective allied fields such as media studies, telecommunications, journalism, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, medical science, nursing, public health, psychology/psychiatry, and medical informatics. It was originally published as a special issue of Health Communication.

Rukhsana Ahmed (Ph.D., Ohio University) is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University at Albany, State University of New York, USA. Her research focuses on the communication processes in improving health outcomes among marginalized communities and promoting social changes in local and international health contexts. She is the Chief Editor of Health Communication, a specialty section of Frontiers in Communication.

Yuping Mao (Ph.D., Ohio University) is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at California State University, Long Beach, USA. She has extensive interdisciplinary research experience in communication and global health. Her research focuses on ways of promoting cultural diversity and bridging health inequities in healthcare systems especially among migrants and underserved populations.